Sign character element



Dec. 30, 1952 H R, OWEN ETAL 2,623,315

SIGN CHARACTER ELEMENT Filed Deo. 2o, 19118 `Patented Dec. 3G, i952UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SIGN CHARACTER ELEMENT Application DecemberZ0, 1948, Serial No. 66,376

3 Claims.

This invention relates to advertising and like signs and particularly tosign character elements for use in such signs and to a method ofproducing the same.

Advertising signs, particularly those of the electrically illuminatedtype, usually include a boxlike structure constructed from sheet metaland providing a background for painted or sheet metal sign characterelements which are mounted thereon.

Such sign structures are subject to several disadvantages, one of whichis that sheet metal supports of this character have little rigidity andmust be adequately braced by a rigid internal structure. Even when suchsign background structures are thus braced, they remain relativelyflexible so that they bend readily when subjected to Wind loads and thisresults in deformation and cracking or breaking of the paint or othercoating materialA which is applied to the outer surfaces. Moreover, thesign character elements, being made from sheet metal, possess verylittle strength, are relatively expensive to manufacture, and possesslittle, if any, artistic appeal. It is thus seen that the majority ofsigns are custom built since their parts cannot be standardized, exceptWhere employed in identical signs.

We have discovered that a rigid sign structure is produced when it iscomposed of panels capable of being joined in end-to-end and sideby-siderelationship, and when the panels are, in themselves, structuralelements. Such a sign structure is disclosed in our application forpatent for Sign Structure, Serial No. 25,328, filed May 6, 1948. Asdescribed in the application, the sign panels are made as cast metallicelements each having a platelike portion which provides a background,and perimetrical flanges, the latter components being adap-ted to bebolted or otherwise secured to the similar flanges of adjacent panels toprovide, in effect, crossing ribs on the rear side of the sign structurewhich greatly strengthen the same and provide maximum rigidity. Signscomposed of such structural and ornamental cast panels lend themselvesto a large variety of shapes since the panels can be joined in many Waysto produce signs of desired sizes .and contours.

As will be apparent, sign panels of the cast type discussed above mayassume various sizes and shapes and, in addition, may have raised ordepressed sign character portions or letter strokes cast integralthereon or provided with sign character openings or windows thereinthrough which light can be transmitted so that any desirable effect canbe readily produced.

The vpresent invention is concerned with signs of the type last referredto above, that is, signs composed of a plurality of cast panels suitablyjoined. It has been determined that the cost of producing signs of thistype can be maintained at a relatively low figure if the components, forexample, the sign panels, are standardized as to size and shape. It hasalso been learned that if a sign panel can be made to serve either as anoutline, silhouette or Window type character element, the utility ofsuch a panel would be increased and the over-all cost of the sign wouldbe accordingly reduced.

It is, therefore, an important object of my invention to provide a signpanel of the cast metal type which is initially formed with a raisedsign character portion or letter stroke which may, if desired, beoutlined by a gaseous discharge illuminating tube. A related object isto provide a sign panel of the type referred to in which the raisedletter stroke is of channel-shaped cross section and capable of beingreadily separated from the platelike portion of the panel by a cuttingoperation, the cut being made in a plane y which is parallel to the faceof the panel. By this construction and separation of the raised signcharacter portion from the panel, a distinct sign character is producedWhich can be utilized on the same or another sign by mounting it flatily divided to produce a pair of sign components so that by a singlemolding or casting process a pair of the components are at least partlyformed and the over-all cost of the sign is materially reduced, thisbeing an important object of the invention.

Another object is to provide a composite sign element of the typespecified in which the severed sign character component can be employedeither by itself as an outline or silhouette letter or used inconjunction with the panel from which it is separated to produce variouslighting eifects.

A further object is to provide a method' of forming the separate signcharacter elements, the method consisting of a minimum number ofextremely simple steps which can be carried out expeditiously andinexpensively.

Further objects of the invention will appear from the followingspecification and from the drawing, which is intended for the purpose ofillustration only, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a composite sign character elementembodying the features of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. l, showing a raised character portionor letter stroke sepa rated from the main panel portion;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional View, taken on a horizontal planethrough the sign character element and showing the two companion partsemployed in cooperative relationship to produce a silhouette lightingeffect;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the sign panel from which the raisedsign character element has been removed and illustrating a gaseousdischarge illuminating tube disposed in the sign character opening orwindow thereof;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional View, taken on line 5--5 of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional view, taken on line S-t of Fig. 1.

The sign element lil shown in Fig. l is generally similar to the signpanel disclosed in the pending application referred to previously andhas a substantially flat, rectangular, platelike panel portion Il and isprovided with a perimetrical flange i2 projecting at right angles to theportion I I. The panel element Iii, which is molded or cast fromlight-weight metal, is thus channel shape in cross section and,consequently, has relatively great strength and rigidity so that it is,in effect, a structural element. The flange l2 of the panel element IGis provided with spaced apertures 32 which are adapted to register withthe apertures of adjacent panel elements, bolts iii or lother fasteningdevices being inserted through the aligned apertures to secure thepanels in end-to-end and side-by-side relationship. The flanges i2 thusprovide, in effect, a network of crossing ribs which greatly strengthensand provides rigidity to the vsign structure. While the exterior surfaceof the platelike panel portion il is herein shown as plain, that is,without ornamentation, it may be suitably embellished with ribs,grooves, raised squares or any other markings te enchance its appearanceand to provide a mat surface capable of diffusing light projectedthereagainst, as explained in the pending application.

The sign panel element lil is provided with a sign character portion orletter stroke l5 which is cast integrally therewith and which projectsforwardly from the platelike portion I i. rlfhe letter stroke I5 may beof any selected shape and size and, as shown in Figs. l and 6, ischannel shape in cross section, being provided with side Iwalls I E andI'I and a front connecting web it.

The sign panel element it, having the sign character element I5 formedthereon, is applied to use as shown in Fig. l. That is to say, when theelement El] is employed in an illuminated sign to designate a letter ofa word for example, an electrically activated, gaseous dischargeilluminating tube 2t may be mounted thereon as shown in Fig. l toprovide an outline for the raised character I5, the ends of the tubeextending inwardly through apertures in the panel portion II and-provided with electrodes adapted for connection to electrical contactmeans, the tube 2) being supported by suitable clips, these componentsbeing common in the art and, therefore, not shown or described herein.

As previously explained, it is sometimes desirable to employ signcharacter elements which have character openings in the form of windowsthrough which light rays can project. The present invention contemplatesthe provision of such a sign character and, in accordance with theimproved structure, this sign character is produced by the simpleprocedure of removing the raised sign character I5 from the panel Il asshown in Fig. 2. The removal of the raised character portion I5 may bereadily accomplished by the simple act of cutting it from the platelikeportion I by means of a relatively thin rotary cutter or saw, the cutbeing made in a plane which is parallel to the face of the platelikeportion II. When the character portion I5 is removed, an opening orletter stroke 2|, of the same size and contour as the raised characterI5, is provided in the platelike panel portion II. To apply the elementI8 having the opening 2| to use, it may be incorporated in the signstructure by bolting its iiange I2 to the corresponding iianges ofadjacent panels, which may be plain or provided with other letterstrokes. After the sign structure has been built up, an electricallyactivated, gaseous discharge tube 22, of the samev size and contour asthe opening 2l, is mounted in the opening, the tube thus serving toproduce the desired illuminated letter or other sign character. Ifdesired, the letter stroke opening fl may be closed by a translucentglass or plastic shield or window 25 through which the light raysemanating from the tube 22 are transmitted in a somewhat diifusedcondition, such an arrangement being shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

The sign character portion I5, after being separated from the compositesign panel It, can be applied to use in the same or other signs invarious ways. For example, the portion l5, which may be regarded as aletter stroke element, c-an be secured flat against any background andilluminated in any manner, or it can be mounted upon the top of a deckor other horizontalsupport to form a silhouette o1' shadow letter asdisclosed in a pending application for patent on Deck Sign, Serial No.39,240, filed by Harold R. Owen on July 1'?, i948, now U. S. Patent No.2,559,991, patented July 10, 1951. It is thus seen that the compositesign element Eil, including the panel II and the letter stroke l 5, canbe used as shown in Fig. l, and that upon Vseparation of the letterstroke element l5 from the panel I I these components can be employed inthe same or in diiferent signs for forming lettering having differentlighting characteristics.

it is also within the concept of our invention to utilize the separatedcomponents H and I5 together as shown in Fig. 3 to produce a silhouettesign character. This result is accomplished by mounting the letterstroke element I5 forwardly of the panel element II and in alignmentwith the opening 2l thereof by means of suitable holders 29. Anilluminating tube 30 is disposed within the letter stroke element I5 andfollows the outline thereof. Since the element l5 is spaced from theforward surface of the panel II, light emanating from the tube 3d istransmitted through the space between the elements and onto the surfacesof the panel element adjacent the edges of the opening 2 I. Theprojected light is reected by the surfaces o the panel element, the

degree of reflectability of the panel element depending to a largeextent upon the char-acter of the reflecting surface. The effect of suchlighting is to cause the letter stroke element to be sharply outlinedagainst a lighted background and thus provide a silhouette or shadowletter. By varying the space between the two elements I I and I5 and bychanging the location of the illuminating tube 30 within the element I5,different lighting effects can be produced.

The present invention further contemplates a method of producing thesign character elements I I and I5. As explained previously, theelements II and I5 comprise integral portions of a composite signelement I which is made from light Weight sheet metal as a molding orcasting. The composite element I0 is formed in a mold (not shown) whichhas a cavity of the size and outer shape of the element. The innercontour of the element I0 is dened by the companion part of the moldwhich provides, in effect, a core. To produce the sign elements II andI5, the molten metal is placed in the matrix portion of the mold and thecore element forced thereagainst to cause the metal to flow and assumethe shape of the composite element I0 which is thereafter removed fromthe mold, the molded product being of the slnape disclosed in Figs. 1and 6. The sign element I0 is then divided into the two components IIand I5 by a simple cutting operation which may be performed in a machineor by means of a rotary saw or band saw around which the element may bepassed by an operator. To separate the letter stroke element I5 from thepanel II, the latter is moved relative to the rotating saw in a planewhich is parallel to the outer face of the panel and represented by theline -a: in Fig. 6, so as to sever the letter stroke close to the outerface of the panel. The two letter elements I I and I5 4are thus producedby a simple and economical method which consists merely of molding thecomposite sign element I0 and subsequently severing the raised letterstroke portion I5 from the panel portion. Preferably the outer surfacesof the sign elements II and I5 are coated with vitreous enamel or anyother protective and ornamental coating and, as explained heretofore,these surfaces may be plain or marked with straight or crossing ribs orgrooves or any desired geometrical designs to further enhance theappearance of the sign and provide backgrounds having various degrees oflight reflectivity.

While we have herein disclosed the sign elements as embodied inpreferred forms of construction and produced by a specic method, it willbe apparent that various modifications therein may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention. Consequently, we do not wishto be limited in this respect, but desire to be afforded the full scopeof the appended claims.

We claim as our invention:

1. A sign element. comprising: a cast, substantially planar panel havingan opening representing a sign character in its face; a cast signcharacter member of the same configuration as said opening disposedforwardly of and in alignment with said opening in spaced relation tosaid face; and an electric gaseous discharge illuminating tube of thesame configuration as said opening and disposed behind said sign,character member and forwardly of said panel.

2. A sign element as defined in claim 1 in which said sign charactermember is substantially channel shaped in cross section and has a largerperimeter than said opening.

3. A sign element as delined in claim 1 .in which said sign charactermember is substantially channel shaped in cross section and said tube isdisposed within said member so as to transmit light onto the face ofsaid panel to be reflected thereby.

HAROLD R. OWEN. RALPH BROWN.

REFERENCES orrEn The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

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